MBB Visits DePaul Tuesday
2/24/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 24, 2014
Buy Tickets | FOX Sports 1 | Game Notes | | Live Audio l Video Preview
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Seton Hall men's basketball team wraps up a two-game Midwest swing when the Pirates visit the DePaul Blue Demons in Rosemont, Ill. for a primetime FOX Sports 1 BIG EAST Tuesday Showdown. Tip-off is slated for 9 p.m. eastern. The Hall's radio broadcast can be heard on 970 AM (WNYM).
Seton Hall (14-13, 5-9) pushed first-place Creighton to the brink on Sunday, falling 73-72 and coming up just short of handing the nationally-ranked Bluejays their first home loss of the season.
Senior Fuquan Edwin (Paterson, N.J.) tallied a team-high 21 points against Creighton, topping the 20-point mark for the third consecutive game. With Edwin providing the punch from the perimeter, senior Eugene Teague (Vineland, N.J.) returned to the starting lineup and punished the Bluejays inside, racking up 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting and snatching 11 rebounds. It marked his seventh double-double of the season.
Teague keyed a commanding effort on the glass for The Hall, as after being out-rebounded by Creighton 38-to-27 in the first meeting, the Pirates collected 34 boards while limiting the Bluejays to just 20 as a team.
The Pirates' offense also continued to click, as in the absence of Sterling Gibbs (Scotch Plains, N.J.) who missed the game due to a coach's decision, freshman Jaren Sina (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) logged a career-high 37 minutes and was one of four players to record as many as three assists. In all, Seton Hall recorded an assist on 16 of its 25 field goals, shooting 48.1 percent (25-for-52) for the game.
The Hall also converted on a season-best 93.3 percent (14-of-15) of its free throws but could not overcome a 29-point effort from national scoring leader Doug McDermott, 19 of which came in the second half.
Offense was the story for the Pirates in the first meeting with DePaul as well; an 86-69 victory for The Hall on Jan. 25. Seton Hall used its depth to overwhelm a short-handed Blue Demons squad with nine players logging at least 10 minutes. Edwin was the star, scoring 30-points in what ranks as the Pirates' most prolific offense performance in BIG EAST play thus far, but was also the only Seton Hall player to reach double-figures as the offense came from all angles on the night.
In year four under head coach Oliver Purnell, DePaul (10-18, 2-13) sits last in the BIG EAST standings and is currently mired in a 10-game losing streak. Led by 55 combined points from leading scorer Brandon Young and standout freshman guard Billy Garrett Jr. however, the Blue Demons proved how tough they can be at home in pushing preseason league favorite Marquette to overtime on Saturday, ultimately falling, 96-94.
Seven of DePaul's 10 victories have come at home this season, including their most recent conference win - a 77-75 triumph over St. John's on Jan. 14.
Seton Hall has come out on top in two of its last three trips to Rosemont and aims to continue its dominance in the all-time series as the Pirates own a 10-3 record against DePaul. The Hall has posted a 7-2 mark against the Blue Demons since they joined the BIG EAST.
The Pirates will look to complete the season sweep of DePaul when the two teams face off Tuesday at Allstate Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. eastern time with a live national telecast on FOX Sports 1. Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will handle play-by-play and color commentary duties for 970 AM (WNYM) and the Pirates Sports Network on SHUPirates.com.
